Neo-Conservative Concerns about Merkel

I happen to be in Washington DC where the neo-con pundits still dominate political discourse even as their grandiose projects - bombing Iraq into democracy while phasing out Social Security at home - have lost all support in the US according to the most recent polls.  WIth respect to the upcoming elections in Germany, the neo-con's initial euphoria about Gerhard Schroeder's demise is turning more muted as they learn more about Angela Merkel:

THERE HAVE BEEN COMPARISONS made by some in the media between the Christian Democratic candidate for chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Margaret Thatcher. That would be misleading. As Torsten Krauel of Die Welt points out, "Mrs. Thatcher looked to the past to restore Great Britain's greatness, and she embarked on a very confrontational course to achieve that goal. Mrs. Merkel, on the other hand, does not feel inclined to make Germany a great power." Professor Michael Werz of the German Marshall Fund of the United States calls the comparison "an unrealistic assessment" and notes that "the CDU has a very strong social Catholic tradition. . . . With an increasingly aging constituency, you are not really likely to be a revolutionary party--you are very likely to be a party that preserves the status quo as much as possible."

And there appears to be some concern that the CDU will respect the rights of minorities:

One of Michael Werz's concerns is that the Christian Democrats be willing to embrace diversity, "not only accepting minorities and helping them make their way through society, but also being conscious about the necessity of organizing middle class immigration into Germany. . . . Sometimes people in Germany are tempted to give 19th century answers to 21st century questions."

So whatever changes occur in Germany in after the election in September, they are not likely to be radical enough enough for the Washington neo-conservative establishment.